Keokuk, IA – At approximately noon a water protector, Cameron Kennedy, 27, of Minneapolis locked onto the drilling waste vehicle Dakota Access Pipeline has been using to transport drilling byproduct to an unlined earthen pit near the Des Moines River on Johnson Street Road in Keokuk, Iowa.

Samples from this earthen pit have been taken and are currently being tested to report levels of contamination allowed in an unlined earthen pit per standards of the EPA. This vehicle has been key in DAPL’s drilling underneath the Mississippi River here in Keokuk, Iowa.

“This truck is essential to the operation of the horizontal directional drilling occurring under the Mississippi. When the sludge tank is full, it must be transported and emptied before work continues,” Joe Byson of Colorado said today.

Kennedy locked onto the back frame of the truck. Initially, according to footage obtained, the driver of the truck refused to stop his vehicle. One arrest has been made of another supporter in the area. Yesterday, Krissanna Mara, another water protector, and Jenn Siege, an accredited member of the press were released from Lee County Sheriff’s custody. As of 1:30PM Kennedy is still reported to be locked on, hampering construction of DAPL.

This event continues to be a part of Mississippi Stand, a nonviolent direct action campaign in Keokuk, Iowa with aims to stop the drilling underneath the Mississippi. The camp, known as Mississippi Stand, has been in place since August 31st and was established in solidarity with Standing Rock, a Lakota camp challenging DAPL in North Dakota, and other Native American efforts to keep DAPL from destroying sacred and traditional lands. Workers are boring under the Mississippi river 24 hours a day. About 150 people have been arrested while peacefully protesting at the site to date. Public input was not allowed during planning for the pipeline route and permits were hastily granted without proper environmental studies. There are major community concerns around the safety of the project for the quality of the Missouri, Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

“There is another way, we have the technology, we have the infrastructure, we cannot continue to destroy our resources so that a select few from big oil can profit. We invite others to take a stand and say “no more” to big oil.” Alex Cohen.

Tonight the community in Keokuk, Iowa plans to rally through downtown to inform the public and stand in solidarity with these water protectors across the country. Images available at https://www.facebook.com/MississippiStandCamp/

Keokuk, IA – After a string of shutdowns and demonstrations this weekend, another Water Protector shutdown a construction site in Keokuk, Iowa this afternoon. Krissana Mara, 31, of Thailand, arrived as a water protector of Mississippi Stand about a week ago and locked down to an excavator earlier this afternoon at a Dakota Access Pipeline in Keokuk. At approximately 1PM Mara arrived at the construction site. Pipeline workers left the site and police, fire department, and ambulance arrived shortly after.

Press was on the scene and one credentialed member of the press was arrested for trespassing as well. This is the second member of the Press that has been arrested within a week by Lee County Sheriff’s Department.

This direct action follows Mississippi Stand’s stance as a nonviolent direct action to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Mississippi Stand states that it is a nonviolent direct action campaign with aims to stop drilling of the Dakota Access Pipeline through the Mississippi River. Mississippi Stand states that theirs is a strategic location as it is the only known site where Dakota Access is drilling underneath a major aquifer. Opposition to Dakota Access Pipeline continues to grow, as yesterday actress Shailine Woodley was arrested on film while joining water protectors in North Dakota.

Dakota Access Pipeline has obtained additional permits from the Army Corps of Engineers to continue drilling until December 31st. “This was expected, and we are prepared to stand on the right side of history — against big oil and the desecration of our resources until this pipeline is stopped,” said Jim Arenz, a media coordinator at Mississippi Stand.

Mississippi Stand claims their numbers have quadrupled since the eviction notice served last week and that their supporters continue to grow both locally and nationally.

Mississippi Stand plans a rally in downtown Keokuk Friday evening starting at 5:30PM, starting at Victory Park to march up Main Street to the courthouse steps where there will be speakers from the local community talking about the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Footage of the member of the press being arrested can be found on following this link and Mississippi Stand’s Facebook page.

Cannon Ball, N.D.– The Red Warrior Camp, in partnership with the Camp of the Sacred Stones issued an official Call to Action Wednesday for allies from around the world to stand ?in solidarity with the groups by joining the NoDAPL Global Weeks of Solidarity Actions from September 3 – 17.

The groups call on supporters to organize protest actions at Citigroup, TD Bank, and the Japan-based Mizuho Bank locations to highlight the companies’ financing of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. If built, the new pipeline is expected to deliver 570,000 gallons of crude oil across 1,172 miles across North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois, where it will link to infrastructure able to transport the oil to the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the Call to Action:

“Water is a necessity for all life. Water is life. Now is the time for all people from all walks of life to join together to stop the desecration and destruction of water, land and life! Please join our Indigenous led movement to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline by planning or joining an action near you!”

The need for clean water is also at the heart of a legal challenge against the Army Corps of Engineers, brought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe with representation from Earthjustice and filed on July 27, 2016. The lawsuit alleges that the Corps’ approval of the permit that allows the oil company to dig the pipeline under the Missouri River just upstream of the reservation and the Tribe’s drinking water supply violates the Clean Water Act and other federal laws. An injunction that would stop construction while legal challenges are heard is expected by September 9.

The groups also launched a new website that includes a map of protest actions planned, news and updates: NoDaplSolidarity.org.